Question from AnnaDella
Debra, do you think Restoration Hardware’s 100% wool rugs are as good as BioCarpet? They seem to cost exactly the same with carpet pad-all wool–and the experience is such an upper, but the 2 dealers who sell the Earthweave carpet are not a good experience.
I got a quote from the local dealer, but then received the RH gorgeous catalog for baby nurseries in the mail. The color & weaves is the same, and the price was even a couple hundred dollars less. If it doesn’t smell like camel urine, then don’t you think we are safe, even if they are made in India? they have no synthetic backing or adhesive.
Here is the Biocarpet/Earthweave:
Natural Wool Carpet, Non Toxic, Green, High Quality –Earth Weave Carpet Mills, Inc.
Here is a picture of Restoration Hardware Natural wool rug-very very similar:
Chunky Braided Wool Rug – Cream | Ben Soleimani for RH | Restoration Hardware
This link tells about the man who does their rugs, & the quality
images.restorationhardware.com/media/articles/RH_DreamWeaver_BenSoleimani.pdf
Restoration Hardware just opened a multi-story stunning showroom in Houston, and is full of creative interior designers. I hope you think their wool rug looks as high quality as your standards–I think it is not camel pee stinky or adhesive stinky, and the prices & softness/quality seem to even exceed the Biocarpet experience.
Debra’s Answer
First I want to say that two products don’t need to meet the same standards in order for you to choose one or the other. The question for me is not does the Restoration Hardware carpet compare with Biocarpet, but does it meet the basic standards I would apply to choosing a carpet.
The answer appears to be yes. I say “appears to be” because I can only go by the description, I’m not looking at the actual carpet.
The thing I would check is what pesticides may be applied in manufacture, and even if there are none, always assume that pesticides are sprayed in shipping containers from India, and that would be a reason to go with the Made-in-USA Bioweave. Packaging may be sufficient to protect this rug from India during it’s travels, but it’s an unknown.
It’s is a beautiful carpet. I agree.
I have no experience with either of these carpets, but have bought imported rugs before and had varying experiences. One of my criteria for area rugs in my home is machine washable, so I have 8×10 100% cotton rugs that can be washed in an industrial washer and then air dried. I insist on washable for two reasons: one is cat puke, baby puke, and just general dirt. Once I washed one of my rugs in our giant double loader and saw what came out of it, I never wanted a non-washable rug again. The second reason is that I believe anything imported has had some treatment applied to it, whether pesticides, antifungal, or some type of vermin treatment and washing before using seems a good idea, although I am not sure it washes out. I have had two very different experiences with two companies: Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel. Every Pottery Barn rug I have ever smelled, including the 100% cotton rug I bought, reeked of chemicals. Even after washing, that rug still stunk terribly so I promptly returned it. On the other hand, I have 4 Crate & Barrel 100% rag rugs and none of them smelled. I still washed them before use and they have been beautiful and durable. The colors run a little when washing, but as they are multi-colored rag rugs, it really doesn’t affect their appeal. I’m currently waiting for them to issue a new color combination for the bedroom. I can’t say for sure whether they have anything on them that I can’t smell, but I’ve washed all of them many times and the difference between them and Pottery Barn was huge. I’m afraid of something I can’t wash before use, rugs that have backings of any kind (all of mine are reversible and very affordable), rugs you can’t wash when dirty, and of rugs that need to be cleaned by an outside service.